


Stifling Daniel

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Established Relationship, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-07
Updated: 2006-03-07
Packaged: 2019-02-02 16:12:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12729906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: Watching out for Daniel is tough job, but someone's gotta do it. :)





	Stifling Daniel

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

  
Author's notes: My first attempt at writing a sex scene. There is some implied deviancy (but not J/D.)   


* * *

There he goes. Daniel, light of my life and pain in my tush, stomping angrily ahead of me, slashing through the vegetation on our way to the abandoned temple of Kot'Lanet on P7G-994. Yep. It's me he's mad at, but I blame General Lowe. Bloody paper-pushing, bureaucratic twerp.

Thanks to Senator Kinsey, I have the slick, well-groomed Brigadier General Richard Lowe II and his trusty servant, Lieutenant Agee, along for an impromptu trip to this officially-declared-safe planet, so he can evaluate SG team effectiveness and the value of Stargate travel.

Those idiots in Washington got bamboozled again by Kinsey and his bible-thumping budget posturing. The guy's a card-carrying member of the Flat Earth Society. Unbelievably, the higher-ups still haven't figured that out yet. So we have **this** guy, General "Swell," whom they insist must go through the Stargate with us. Dazzling-white smile and all.

He's about my size and build but a few years older, and I'd bet a year's salary the only battle experience he's ever lived to tell the tale about involved a copy machine and a toner cartridge. Carter said he reminded her of Harrison Ford and called him "dashing."

And then he opened his mouth.

In our introductory meeting yesterday, Lowe wasted no time in establishing himself as the narcissistic, pretentious, brainless putz I suspected him to be. He really got off on the wrong foot with our lead civilian consultant, making little effort to disguise his obvious contempt for him — Kinsey's influence, no doubt.

Constantly interrupting Daniel's presentation, Lowe directed his questions to either Hammond or me, instead of Daniel himself. Of course Hammond and I turned the questions right over to Daniel, who tried very patiently and respectfully to answer each and every one of them — even the stupid ones.

No matter how many times Hammond explained that only Dr. Jackson could answer questions of that nature, Lowe just kept right on asking Hammond. Occasionally, he would repeat a question Daniel had carefully explained just a few minutes before. "Dapper Dick" is not what I'd call a fast learner.

At one point, Daniel put forth his theory about how he believed the totems he'd found at one of the temples on P7G-994 were fertility totems and possibly held some insight into how little Goa'uld are made. And based on some of his translations, he was confident that further exploration of the temples might reveal new information about Goa'uld queens and Goa'uld contraception. Only Daniel's mind would go there. ****

**This** was interesting stuff, and I was really getting into it when Lowe cleared his throat, turned to his assistant and whispered something in his ear at which Agee sniggered, looking Daniel up and down like he was something the guy found on the sole of his shoe. Asshole.

Carter was livid — and not just because Lowe's charm lasted all of twenty-three seconds. The guy was being rude and dismissive toward Daniel, and no one does that to her Daniel. Even Teal'c was clenching and unclenching his jaw. And if I know Teal'c, he was probably trying to figure out how he could rip off the General's epaulettes and shove them down his throat.

"Pardon me," he smiled condescendingly and shifted in his chair to look at General Hammond. "This is all well and good, but how will understanding the mating rituals of an alien species help us to achieve any kind of military superiority?"

Daniel, clearly at his wits end, fielded the question before Hammond could answer. "Even to a lowly civilian, it would seem blatantly obvious that any information helping us to understand their genetic and physiological weaknesses and use them to our advantage would, in fact, help to accomplish that goal."

It was then that Lowe looked at Daniel and told him to bring him a glass of water. My boy was losing it. He threw a look of disbelief my way, took a breath, and when that didn't work, took another one and began to speak. Fortunately Hammond leant an assist, asking Carter to pass the tray with the pitcher to the General. It seemed logical, what with her sitting right next to it and all.

Lowe was less than thrilled about having to make like Jeeves and made a fuss over spots on the glasses only he could see. Apparently the guy has X-ray vision, which is more than can be said for Agee, a remora firmly attached to the General's ass. Why he got his hankie out I do not know. If Lowe wasn't drinking from a glass with invisible spots, what were the odds he'd gulp down subordinate snot?

And so it continued. For the rest of the meeting, Lowe ignored logic, minimized facts, criticized research, and challenged just about everything put forth with pointless and sometimes unanswerable questions. This guy was out to make a meal of Daniel while the rest of us had to sit by, watch and make nice. But curiously, he became rather animated when Daniel described the totems as being "somewhat phallic in nature." I could swear I saw Lowe and his assistant exchange a fleeting glance. Then the questions came fast and furious, and Hammond looked at Lowe as if he was that half-wit with the banjo in the movie Deliverance.

The meeting was scheduled for one hour and far exceeded two. When it was mercifully over, I motioned to Teal'c to follow me and dragged my very red-faced and irritated archaeologist out into the hall and out of earshot. And while Daniel ranted and raved about how he'd never had to deal with that crap even with a roomful of eighteen-year-old freshman and the General not knowing his ass from a hole in the ground, I quietly asked Teal'c to take Daniel to the gym or to his room to Kel'no'reem away the tension.

Of course, he agreed and as he gently guided Daniel (still ranting) down the hall, I went to find Carter. Something was up beyond the obvious agenda Lowe had, and I was going to find out. And besides, Lowe crossed the line with Daniel. I owed him. Big.

A good night's sleep did nothing to improve Lowe's manners either. This morning, when I dropped by SG-2's locker room to help get Lowe and Agee kitted out, the General complained about the organization of our packs. He made several suggestions based on "well-known time/motion management principles" — all of them ridiculous — then brought up a concern about the fatigues not looking "very well-pressed."

In the gate room as we stood waiting for the coordinates to be dialed, General Lowe droned on endlessly about mission prep inefficiencies and wasteful equipment expenditures. You'd think as this was the General's first time traveling to another planet, he'd be focused, a little anxious, maybe even excited. But nooooo. He just continued to gripe and prattle on relentlessly at which point I began to tune out. He reminded me chillingly of my ex-mother-in-law.

But then he started in on Daniel again, making a rather condescending remark about his "wasted" multiple post-graduate degrees and strange vocational choice to which Daniel quickly riposted a very subtle observation about the General's pointed interest in phalluses. The veiled insult thankfully went over Lowe's head, but it had Carter stifling a sudden snort behind her hand, and she disappeared behind FRED in a fit of barely audible sniggering. Even Teal'c had a very satisfied grin on his face. Nice one, Danny!

And so, between the General's inauspicious introduction to the SGC yesterday, this morning's pre-mission prep in which he criticized everything we did and insulted Daniel yet again, and an unfortunate choice of words on my part as we headed into the gate room, Daniel is not speaking to me.

Christ.

In fact, it's been two hours since Daniel last said a word to me. Well, actually, two words. Starting with "F" and ending with "uck you." I only told him he needed to lighten up about some things to which he responded with the aforementioned two words.

So here we are, Daniel and me, trudging towards the temple for the past forty minutes in silence, leaving the rest of SG-1 and SG-2 to set up camp with "Dapper Dick" playing foreman and giving Daniel some much-needed distance between him and the very enchanting General and his spiffy sidekick.

I selected this planet because it's been Goa'uld-free for a long time and shouldn't bring about any unwanted guests of the Jaffa variety. I also want to help Daniel to develop his theory about the totems and the Goa'uld. Uncovering anything that could help us learn more about preventing Goa'uld reproduction is a significant tangible military gain we can shove back in Kinsey's face. Besides, I'm always up for giving Daniel another chance to play.

Now I just have to keep working on him, so he'll talk to me again.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. Okay?" I say hopefully, trying to once more break the silence.

Nothing.

"Come on, Danny," I whine. "This guy's got an agenda, and I didn't want to raise any red flags until I got a handle on him."

Daniel hacks a particular piece of brush with a little more zeal than necessary.

"I know he's an asshole, but we need him to see the value of the Stargate program so our funding won't be cut. You know he's Kinsey's lapdog."

"He called me a geek, Jack."

Finally! Words. Okay, now we're getting somewhere.

"I know."

Daniel stops and partially turns to me, finger in the air as he ponders the incident. "And you said what to him, in response?"

"Um."

"Go on, Jack," Daniel nods, coaxing me along with his hand. "You know."

"I...um...said, 'Yeah, but he's our geek?'"

"Right, and please enlighten me as to the advice you imparted to me just afterwards?"

I really didn't want to go there again, but Daniel just put a hand on his hip determined to wait me out. "Fine. I said you needed to lighten up about some things."

"Sage advice delivered to the rhythm of your yo-yo." Daniel turns and resumes murdering the vegetation.

"I said I was sorry, Daniel."

"I heard you."

"Are you ever going to forgive me?" I hope so. The view of his butt is causing an intense reaction in my groin.

"I'm not through being angry yet."

"Oh."

"But I will be."

"Okay."

"Eventually."

"Okay." I'll take what I can get. We walk some more, and I offer, "You know, you called him a dick."

Daniel stops and turns back to me.

"I didn't call him a dick. I called him 'Dick.' There's a difference."

"Oh, right. This is you: `Dick? May I call you Dick? Listen, Dick...' is certainly **not** calling him a dick. I stand corrected."

I glare at him as he turns back towards the direction of the temple and resumes walking, mowing down undergrowth in his path. He's in partial profile, and I can see he's trying to hide a big, snarky grin on his face. Little shit.

"I cut you off and pulled you out of the meeting room, because he's baiting you on purpose, and I'll bet Kinsey put him up to it. You know the good Senator's always looking for some way to pull the plug on the SGC, or at least make it difficult to keep thing rolling at the current pace. And he sure as hell doesn't like either one of us. I don't want to give the guy any ammo."

"Fine," Daniel concedes, his voice noticeably softer. He walks a few more paces. "I'll behave."

I sigh. I think I'm forgiven.

Five minutes later, we're at the temple. It hasn't changed much since we were last here, but we still enter and walk around cautiously. Pulling aside cobwebs and vines that curiously grew in the low light of the temple, Daniel makes his way over to the stone stairs leading to the balcony above where the totems are. The steps were cluttered with rocks and dirt and more vines, but it still looks pretty sound, structurally.

Daniel has already shrugged off his pack and set it on the ground.

"I'm going to do a perimeter check," I say as he starts to pull out the digital camera and his notebook. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

Daniel looks up at me and smiles. "Okay, Jack. Be careful."

I can't help but smile. Yeah, I'm forgiven. "You be careful, too. I'll be right back."

He smiles again, and as I step outside, I glance back once more to see Daniel with his flashlight on, camera and notebook in hand as he carefully climbs the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, my cursory perimeter check revealing nothing, I return to the temple entrance and stand outside to report in to Carter and Teal'c.

"Major Carter, report?" I ask.

//Sir, set up is complete. Major Griff and SG-2 are en route to the third temple, and we're on our way to temple number two with General Lowe and Lt. Agee.//

"Any problems?//

A few moments of awkward silence later, she answers. //No, Sir. No problems. Everything's going according to plan.// 

"Sweet." I love it when things go according to plan. "Two hours to rendezvous, Major."

//See you then, Sir.// She's subtle, but I can tell she's enjoying this mission. She's on special assignment.

"Keep in touch. O'Neill out." I'm kind of enjoying this mission, too.

I step back into the temple and look up toward the balcony. Scanning it for a moment, my heart drops when I didn't see Daniel up there. Making my way to the stairs, I call out, "Daniel!"

"Jack?"

I turned to that soft voice and see him off in a corner deep in the shadows. There amidst the darkness a shaft of light shimmers down, gentle on Daniel as he stands there gliding his long, elegant fingers over a relief embedded in the wall next to one of the totems. My mouth dries at the vision, and I can only stand here and stare at the man I'm deeply and madly in love with.

"Everything okay? Sam sounded a little... off."

"Abso-tively on track, Danny," I assure him. I'm completely unable to focus on anything else right now as whatever blood there was in my brain has just taken up residence south of the equator, and we're all alone here. Oh, yeah. Everything is great. I gather his pack from the foot of the stairs and go up to join him.

I can see he's deeply involved in his study of the totems, scribbling madly in his notebook and trying to decipher their meaning. He wants so much to figure this out and find something to use against the Goa'uld. Not because he wants to throw it in Kinsey's face — he does it because he believes defeating the Goa'uld is a just and noble cause. I watch as he runs his hand down the intricate carvings and caresses the inscriptions in the stone relief. It occurs to me that that's how he touches me, too.

When we make love, he moves those sensitive fingers along my body, exploring and reading — almost as if he's trying to discover the source of my love for him hiding somewhere in a line on my face or in the bend of my knee or along the ridge of my spine. Ever the seeker of knowledge, Daniel sometimes finds himself trying too hard to understand how we fell in love with each other — the when, where, and why of it. When he does this, I put a hand gentle to his lips, stare soul-deep into his blue eyes and tell him, "hush, and just know that I do."

And I do. I love him utterly and without regret or doubt or hesitation. As he does me. He is absolutely my entire world, and he knows I would give up everything for him. As he would for me. So I vow to keep him close to me and protect him and make sure he knows how I feel about him every day for as long as I live.

Planting a kiss on the nape of his neck, he turns his head, smiles and pecks me on the nose.

"Hey," he says quietly and turns back to his work.

"Hey," I say back.

"Jack, these are fantastic," he says, pointing to the totems excitedly. "This is better than I thought. There is a wealth of information here about Goa'uld reproduction. It's largely ceremonial in nature, but I think we'll be able to decipher the basics fairly easily."

There are about eight of them lined up on a ledge below the roof — their sizes ranging anywhere from six inches to about two feet. And, yes, some look pretty phallic to me. I suppose that's to be expected in a temple where fertility is the theme.

I set our packs down and pull Daniel into an easy embrace from behind. It really makes me happy when he gets so adorably animated in his element. I just smile as he continues jabbering away like a little kid at Disney World.

"The writings are fairly easy to read, and I'm getting great pictures of the reliefs. I really think we're finding what I thought we would." He raises a hand and points to the left. "See that?"

I bend my head to place another kiss on his neck. "Yeah," I lie.

"That appears to be in reference to the Goa'uld gestational timeline. I can't be sure until I get Teal'c up here." He pointed to the right and further down while I tuck my head into his neck and rock us easily back and forth. "These patterns remind me of some Meso-American glyphs I'd seen in the Yucatan peninsula about ten years ago, but I'm not sure of the significance of that."

He's silent for a moment then turns around in my arms, his face beaming. Raising his hands to my face, he pulls me in for a deep, soulful kiss. "I think we have something significant here, Jack."

I grind my hips into him to show him exactly **how** significant and say huskily, "Ya think?" His smile grows wider, and he captures my lips once more, sucking my tongue into his mouth.

We stand there for the better part of ten minutes, kissing then eventually groping each other, and getting harder by the second. Then Daniel pulls back, gasping for air and staring longingly at my mouth.

"Off-world, Jack," he says breathlessly. "The mission position? Our rule?"

"Yeah? And?" I bury my face in his neck and start nibbling along his collarbone. His eyes drift shut as he's arching his neck, giving me easy access.

"We decided... Remember?" He's trying, and I'm failing.

"I know this is a stretch," I was licking behind his ear and he bent his head into the stimulation, "but can I just say I was wrong about that?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

"I was wrong about that." I latch onto his lips again, and we slide down the wall to the ground, a tangle of limbs, lips and gasps. "Really..." He kisses a path along my jaw line, "really..." and makes it to my ear, "oh-so-very..." where his tongue begins some excavation, "wrong."

Lying on our sides in a tangle of legs, we grind into one another. "Oooh, Daniel." Okay, I sounded like a little girl just then, but that tongue in my ear — Jesus.

Eventually, our lips meet again, and he reaches for the zipper of my pants. My hard-on is freed, and I gasp as Daniel runs a gentle finger along its length.

"Make love to me, Jack," he breathes into my mouth.

Capturing his bottom lip, I worry it a bit between my teeth as I undo the fastenings of his pants. I reach in to fondle his perfectly smooth and rounded ass, while he unzips a side pocket in his pack and produces a tube of sunscreen.

Before long, our pants are lying in a pile and my fingers are all slicked up and stoking deep inside him. Daniel writhes and bucks underneath me, demanding that I stop with the prep and "just get the hell on with it."

He's really not in the mood for waiting. While I'm making like a boy scout, he grabs up the tube, squeezes a generous amount out onto his palm and starts liberally coating my cock. A moment later, his legs are wrapped high around my back, and I'm breaching him slowly with short, gentle thrusts into the wonderfully silken heat.

Daniel groans and says my name so quietly, then "I love you, Jack."

I smile at him and tease nasally, "Well, you have some very nice qualities, too."

Daniel sighs and says wistfully, "Poetry, Jack. It's a wonder Hallmark hasn't found you and stolen you away."

Then in complete solemnity, I draw his face to mine. I want him to know it. "I love you, Daniel."

He smiles again, his blue eyes black with desire. One last gentle thrust has me buried deep in Daniel and the two of us lie still as he adjusts to me inside of him. I lower myself over him carefully and lean down to plunder his mouth.

Daniel. So loving. So giving. So gentle.

We nuzzle and caress each other, whispering endearments and words of love and commitment. Then Daniel pushes down, and that's my cue. Withdrawing gently, I glide back in slowly. Daniel gasps and arches his neck, so I repeat the movement.

Slowly and deeply thrusting in and out, savoring the velvety heat surrounding me, I bury my head into Daniel's neck, and we settle into a comfortable, easy rhythm. Occasionally, Daniel nibbles my ear then runs his tongue behind it. God, he knows that drives me crazy.

Gently rocking into to him, I lift my head to seek out and latch onto his mouth. I swear he's trying to perform a tonsillectomy on me with his tongue. He bucks, and we break gasping for air then I dive right back and starting biting that amazing, luscious lower lip of his.

//Colonel O'Neill?// 

"Shit!" we gasp into each other's mouths. We still our movements and breathlessly turn to look at the radio hooked to my vest.

//Come in, Colonel.// 

It's Dapper Dick.

I reach over to grab the radio. His timing is impeccable. "Yes, Sir," I answer trying to keep my voice neutral. Daniel frowns at me. I shrug and shake my head.

//Have you reached the temple?//

I look down at my cock nestled nicely in my own little house of worship. "Yes, General. I'm in." Daniel gives a little snort then reaches up to start tonguing my ear again.

//We're here at the second temple, Colonel. Major Carter and the Jaffa are patrolling the perimeter, but the Lieutenant and I have found two new totems. And a lot of wood.//

I key my radio again, "Oh, there's wood here, too, Sir." Daniel snorts again and slaps a hand over his mouth to smother the sniggering.

Lowe speaks again, //Have you found any more totems?// 

"Yes, we have, Sir."

//These aren't very phallic.// 

I smile at Daniel. "Why, he sounds disappointed."

Daniel's giggling again, and I'm losing what little composure I have. I give him a little vengeful thrust, causing Daniel to grunt into his hand. Mercifully, he quiets down.

//Are the ones you found phallic as Dr. Jackson described?// 

Okay, so Lowe is a little too excited about this, and I'm even more confident this mission is going to yield some interesting results.

"I suppose that some could be described as such, Sir." Daniel looks at me incredulously over his hand.

//Well, how is your progress collecting them?// 

Apparently, the General thinks I have nothing better to do than to answer inane questions. Well, I do have something better to do. Gazing down at Daniel, I resume making love to my archaeologist, much to Daniel's delight. I key my radio. "One is buried in pretty deep, Sir. Dr. Jackson and I have the site well-lubricated, and we're trying a series of maneuvers to release it."

Daniel uncovers his mouth and whispers desperately, "Jack!"

Quickly I slap my hand over his mouth to stifle the uncontrolled guffaw that explodes into my palm. Oh, God. The ripples of his laughter are sending spasms around my cock, and under other circumstances would have sent me over the edge. But this exchange between the General and me is turning into a challenge, and I want to see how far I can take it.

//Maneuvers, Colonel?//

"Oh, you know. Up and down. Side-to-side." Daniel is so gone, his belly bouncing, amusement convulsing him beneath me as I demonstrate those maneuvers. I shush him because he's getting louder, but I'm starting to chuckle, too.

//Um, perhaps I should just leave you two alone so you can get the job done, Colonel. How much longer will you be in there?"

"Well, Dr. Jackson and I were just working through the ins and outs of this, and we think things will be coming together shortly." The last two words squeak out of me as I finally lose it. I bury my face into Daniel's shoulder and start laughing helplessly. Tears are squeezing out through Daniel's tightly closed eyes and I pull my hand away.

//Well, you would accomplish your mission a lot faster, Colonel, with a little less conversation, and a little more action.// 

So sayeth the General. I gather what little composure I have and manage to yelp out a `Yes Sir' between giggles. And so that no one can accuse me of not following orders, I begin to piston more urgently into Daniel, who stops laughing instantly, gasping as I nail his prostate over and over again.

//General Lowe out.//

Ah, alone at last. Daniel throws his arms and legs around me, pulling me in as much as he can. He wheezes out, "Come on, Jack. You heard the General. Let's get the job done."

Reaching down between us, I start stroking him. Well, orders are orders.

He's very close. I find his mouth and cover it with mine. Plundering it. Claiming it over and over again. And he comes, violently crying out into my mouth. His spasms pull me over the edge with him, and I slam deep into him and explode—his beautiful, silky channel milking me for every drop. I collapse on top of him, and we lay there exhausted in a twisted, tangled, sweaty heap.

I think the two of us could use a tank of oxygen. Ten minutes lapse before either one of us can move or talk again. And finally, Daniel speaks.

"Wow."

I couldn't agree more. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph." I raise my head from his shoulder and look down at a very dazed and stupefied Dr. Daniel Jackson.

"Um," he says thoughtfully. "That was...uh...kind of...dangerous."

"Yeah."

"Intense."

"Oooh, yeah."

"I think I like it."

"The danger?" Oh boy, I was hoping he'd say that.

"Yeah," he sighs, throwing an arm up behind his head. With his other hand he strokes my arm. "We'll have to explore some closets and storage spaces at the SGC, don't you think?"

"Daniel Jackson." I lean down to kiss him. "You naughty, naughty boy."

"It's all your fault."

"Is not."

"Is, too."

"Not!"

"It SOO is!"

"It's SOO not!"

Daniel rolls his dazed eyes over to look at me. "Is it perverted to consider a radio conversation with an Air Force General a sex aid?"

"Eeeww!" I shut him up by kissing him again.

When I release his mouth, he snorts and smacks me lightly on the arm. "I still can't believe you did that. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life. I thought I was having an aneurysm."

"Pretty damned funny."

My Daniel waxes poetic. "It had everything—romance, suspense, intrigue, humor, hot sex."

"The only thing missing was the soundtrack," I nuzzle Daniel's neck a bit, not wanting this moment to end. "I hate to say this, but we have to go soon. Do you have enough video?"

"Almost. Surprisingly, everything is pretty well confined to this one wall here and the totems themselves. I only have one more section to film, but we can take the totems with us. I can study them better at the SGC."

"So I guess this means I'll have to move **this** phallic totem," I pointed to my cock still inside Daniel, "So we can move **these** phallic totems."

"Disappointed?"

"A bit," I pout.

Daniel pulls me into another embrace, stoking my back, and kissing my forehead. "It's only an intermission, love. There's more where that came from."

One more kiss on the lips, and I tenderly pull out of him. Rising to my feet, I offer him a hand. He takes it then we clean up a bit and get our clothes back on.

"What is the General's problem?" Daniel asks pulling on his pants. "I mean, apart from the fact that he hates me. What's with his obsession with these totems?"

"I'm not sure yet," I take my pants from him. "But I'm working on it." Daniel looks at me curiously and is about to ask when the radios click.

//General Lowe.// It's Teal'c.

A moment later, the General responds, //Go ahead.//

//General, Major Carter has sprained her ankle, and I request permission to assist her back to base camp.//

I look over at Daniel who's fastening his pants. He is concerned and reaches for his radio, but I stop him.

//Very well, Mr. Teal'c.//

//I shall request that SG-2 come to your location?// 

//Uh...no, Mr. Teal'c. I think Lt. Agee and I will be fine until it's time to rendezvous.//

//As you wish, General Lowe. Teal'c out.//

"Why can't I talk to Sam?" is Daniel's first question.

"Teal'c's taking care of her. Let's just finish here and get going." I pick up my radio and key it twice.

"But—"

"Ah-ah! Trust me, okay?"

Daniel narrows his eyes at me. "Oooo-kay. Fine."

Filming the last section didn't take very long, and forty minutes later Daniel and I had the totems securely packed away and are now hacking our way again through more brush to get to the rendezvous point. If I'm not mistaken, there's a cleared path up ahead that will take us right to our destination. I check my watch. We have about ten more minutes before we get there.

"Shouldn't we check in with Sam?" he asks. "Just to see how she's doing?"

"She's okay, Daniel. You're just gonna have to trust me on this."

A minute later, we get to the path. The second temple looms before us about a klik away. Daniel stops and looks at me. "Are we maintaining radio silence for some reason?"

Damn, he's smart. I open my mouth to answer when I hear the radio click twice, then once more.

It's about damn time. Switching the channel on my radio and motioning for Daniel to do the same on his, I speak in a low voice. "Go ahead, Major."

//Bingo, Colonel.// It's Griff. //You were right. About everything.// 

Yes!

"Care to share any details?" I ask.

//Well, you know the totems the General and Agee found? The `not-very-phallic' ones?//

"Yeah." I glance over at Daniel who has his head cocked

//Let's just say one of them is in use at the moment.// 

Daniel eyes narrow. He really has no idea

Griff goes on. //I wouldn't advise bringing it back with us... Ever.//

As the realization sets in, Daniel's mouth drops open, his eyes widen with horror. "What!?!" he hisses.

//Let's just say, the only thing missing in this scene is a trapeze act and the little car full of clowns.//

"YES!" I said rather loudly. I key my radio again, "We're on our way, Major."

//Yes, Sir. Griff out.//

I let go of the radio and punch a fist in the air. "I knew it!" I crowed. Kinsey's lapdog is effectively neutralized and the SGC is once again safe for democracy. I owe Griff and his boys a night on the town, but it's sooo worth it. I'm feeling superior all the way down to my tootsies. In fact, I think I'll dance. I swoop Daniel into my arms and tango for about twenty feet until Daniel's glare puts a damper on things.

"What's going on, Jack?"

I take a deep breath, smile widely and say, "Follow me, oh love-of-my-life."

Daniel considers this, bites his lip and takes up the pace beside me. We arrive at the second temple in no time, and I'm not surprised to see one of Griff's men sitting dazedly on the steps as we walk up.

"How's it going, Propst?" I ask the red-faced Lieutenant.

Looking up at me, he manages a distracted salute. "Um, it's... um... um..."

"That's okay, Lieutenant." I pat him on the shoulder lightly and ascend the steps in the temple. Daniel looks at Propst sympathetically, but follows me.

Inside the temple, I see the rest of SG-2 shifting nervously from foot to foot while viewing a most interesting development in the mission. Before them, hurriedly trying to dress themselves are Lowe and Agee. Both red-faced and sweating, Lowe is blustering indignantly about SG-2 not following orders and when the correct time for rendezvous was scheduled. Gee, if only he'd read the revised timetable in my addendum — the one where SG-2 is to report to the rendezvous point early. Shame.

I clear my throat much like he did in yesterday's meeting and snap a quick salute to the General. Lowe looks up at me then at Daniel, his reddened face darkens.

"Colonel, do you have an explanation for this?" he scowls at me.

I glare back at him, then at Agee and motion to the varied array of implements strewn about the scene including a totem, "An explanation for **this** , Sir? No. But I bet you might."

The General huffs and pulls his t-shirt over his head.

Daniel is mute with shock. Major Griff and his two other men are exchanging glances and trying so hard not to smile, while Dapper Dick and his aide attempt to salvage some dignity. Other than my direction to head back to base camp, nothing more is said.

Minutes later, SG-2 is escorting the disgraced General and Lt. Agee ahead, while Daniel and I follow behind the morbidly silent entourage. This was a victory, but a rather subdued one and Daniel is silent again.

Ruined totem aside, I can see Daniel's mind working as he's trying to distinguish the difference between what Lowe and Agee did and what he and I did at the first temple. Naturally, having an artifact abused in that fashion is enough to set any archaeologist's teeth on edge, but that's not what's weighing on Daniel's mind. I deliberately slow our pace and let SG-2 and the General get a little more distance between us.

"Daniel, there is a difference, you know." I say quietly, looking straight ahead.

Daniel looks up from the ground he's been so fixated on since we started back. "What?"

"What happened here and what happened with us."

Daniel's lips tighten as he considers my words. "I know."

"Do you?" He looks at me, still thinking. "I mean, you know the difference is more than he got caught and we didn't. It's about love and commitment, not sex and depravity. You gotta admit what was going on in that temple with the leather, the whip, the totem and everything else was a bit ..." I wave my hand, "...out there."

Daniel looks at the ground and nods. We walk a few more paces, and he says contemplatively, "He has a wife and kids, Jack. "

I'm not surprised that Daniel is sympathetic towards a guy who didn't hesitate for a moment to try and humiliate and hurt him so blatantly in front of his peers just yesterday. I nod solemnly, "Yes, he does. And I expect the General will be given the option to retire quietly after this mission. Then he'll have to sort out this little peccadillo in the civilian world without the support of any power-mongering Senators using him to push an agenda."

I put my hand on Daniel's shoulder. Maybe pointing out another plus would help. "You know Kinsey's going to have a black eye after this, don't you?" Daniel ponders that notion with interest. "Yeah, he'll slither off into a corner and quiet down for a while, and best of all, he can't blame you, me, Carter or Teal'c for this. **We** didn't discover Lowe's little secret. Griff and his team did."

I look ahead at the group of men who are far enough away for me to take Daniel's hand in mine. "We're not hypocrites, Daniel. I'd give this all up in a nanosecond for you."

Look at his face. An easy smile returns as he gazes at me. "Me, too," he says and squeezes my hand.

He's so impressed with me right now. Once again, I'm feeling quite superior.

"You knew, didn't you?" he asks releasing my hand before the gesture is seen.

"What can I say? I'm a people person," I gloat. "Besides, no one does what he did to my civilian consultant yesterday and gets away with it. He was toast the moment he opened his pie-hole."

Daniel snorts at this, then a thoughtful look appears on this face. "Sam was in on this?"

I nod my head, "Teal'c, too. They're waiting at base camp with Carter's ankle wrapped nicely for effect."

"I can't believe you guys did this," he shakes his head and smiles then his face goes dark. "I can't believe **he** did what he did back there. That was an important artifact!" Okay, now the artifact has loomed large once again in importance. That's my Danny — utterly indignant as we trudge this road together and as SG-2 et al disappear below a rise, I take his hand again as he rants. "That idiot! That philistine! We find important information in the fight against an enemy of Earth, evidence that may have links to Meso-American culture millions of light years from Earth and he— "

Before he can finish, I've temporarily defused my genius lover by pulling him into my arms and fastening my lips to his for another deep, mind-blowing kiss. In a minute I'll let him go back to being annoyed, but for now he really does need to lighten up. Guess that's why I'm here.

END


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